force

n

(=strength)(physical)
force fthe force of the explosionla force de l'explosion→ The force of the explosion shattered the windows.→ I hit him with all the force I could muster ...

(=influential factor)force f→ Britain is re-establishing itself as a powerful force in world politics ...→ Nationalism was rapidly becoming a dangerous force ...outside forces
(=external factors)forces extérieures→ they believe in outside forces such as luck, fate and chanceSociety is apparently directed by outside forces.La société est apparemment contrôlée par des forces extérieures.from force of habit, through force of habitpar la force de l'habitude→ He looked around from force of habit, but nobody paid any attention to him ...→ through force of habit she wakes up at 5 a.m.by force of circumstancepar la force des choses

(=power)force f→ He changed our world through the force of his ideasto have the force of lawavoir force de loi→ The new set-up will have the force of law

the forces of evilles forces du mal

(natural)
force f→ the earth's gravitational force→ The force acting on the particle is constant ...forces of natureforces fpl de la nature→ a land sculpted by the forces of nature

(=coercion)force f→ We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes.by forcepar la force→ ... the guerrillas' efforts to seize power by forceby force of arms
(=by military power)à la force des armes→ You cannot keep a nation down by force of arms indefinitely.

(=military contingent)force f→ armed forces→ peacekeeping forces→ special forcesa volunteer forceune troupe de volontaires→ the deployment of American forces in the region

in force
(=in large numbers)en force→ Voters turned out in force for the elections.to turn up in forcearriver en force→ Animal rights campaigners turned up in force.

the sales force
(=team)la force de vente

to be in force
(=in operation)
[law, system]être en vigueur→ Martial law is in force→ Although the new tax is already in force, you have until November to lodge an appeal.No-smoking rules are now in force.Un règlement qui interdit de fumer est maintenant en vigueur.to come into forceentrer en vigueur

to join forces
(=work together)unir ses forces→ African nations last week joined forces to combat cholerato join forces with sbunir ses forces avec qn→ William joined forces with businessman Nicholas Court to launch the new vehicle.Forces

nplthe Forces(British)l'armée f→ The more senior you become in the forces, the more likely you are to end up in a desk job.

vt

(=compel)forcerto force sb to do sthforcer qn à faire qchThey forced him to open the safe.Ils l'ont forcé à ouvrir le coffre-fort.→ A back injury forced her to withdraw from the competition→ He asked me if I was clever. I was forced to admit that I was not ...→ They forced him to confessto force o.s. to do sthse forcer à faire qch→ She forced herself to kiss her mother's cheek ...to force sth on sbimposer qch à qn→ To force this agreement on the nation is wrong

(=push roughly)forcer→ He forced the key clumsily into the ignition→ They forced David into a small room.to force one's way somewhere, He was trying to force his way into the building.Il essayait de forcer l'entrée du bâtiment.to force one's way through the crowdse frayer un chemin à travers la foule→ she had to force her way through the crush→ crowds were pushing so closely that we had to force a way through

[+lock, door, window]forcer→ They had to force the lock on the trunk.→ Police forced the door of the flat and arrested Mr Roberts

to force a smilese forcer à sourire→ Joe forced a smile, but underneath he was a little disturbed ...

air forcenarmée f de l'air→ ... the United States Air Force ...→ Jack Mann was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot during World War II.→ The country has a strong air force.→ the United States Air Forceto join the air forces'engager dans l'armée de l'air

driving forcenlocomotive f, moteur m→ The council felt the mayor was the driving force in the decision to suspend the chief→ The driving force behind that increase was a surge in orders for transportation equipment.→ His passion for music has been the driving force in his life.

expeditionary forcencorps m expéditionnaire

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force backvt

[+crowd, enemy]repousser

[+tears]refouler→ I forced his head back.→ Nancy forced back tears. She wasn't going to cry in front of all those people.

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force downvt[+food]se forcer à manger

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force offvt
(=force to leave)to force a farmer off his landexpulser un fermier de ses terresto be forced off
[player]devoir quitter le terrain→ he was forced off with a hamstring injury after 31 minutes.

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force outvt

(=expel)faire sortir par la force→ a newspaper calling on Afghans to force out western troopsto be forced out of sth[+position]contraindre à quitter qch→ Ought he to be forced out of the Presidency?

(=extract)to force a confession out of sbarracher des aveux à qn→ They forced a confession out of him ...

force-feedvt

[+prisoner]nourrir de force→ Prisoners on hunger-strike were force-fed

[+duck, goose]gaver→ Production of the foie gras pâté involves force-feeding geese and ducks so that their livers swell.

gale-force windnvent m soufflant en tempête→ ... bad weather with heavy rain and gale-force winds of up to seventy miles per hour.

hurricane-force windnvent m de force 12→ Hurricane-force winds and giant waves ripped holes in the bottom of the tanker

life force, life-forcenforce f vitale→ Film stars tend to have a life-force about them which draws you to them.→ Food is considered a sacred sacrament by the Indians, and to eat is to take in the life force of the plant or animal involved.

moving forcen
(=person)locomotive fthe moving force in the partyla locomotive du parti→ Major D'Aubuisson remains the moving force in the partyto be the moving force behind sthêtre l'instigateur(-trice) de qch→ He was the moving force behind the campaign